The Petraeus Affair Emerged Because Paula Broadwell Was Jealous Of Another Woman

What, you thinking leading the intelligence agency of the most powerful country in the world, and having a boyish grin and a crop of sandy brown hair is only good enough to get you one mistress? The Washington Post fills in some more details on what led to Petraeus's Spyfall, and it looks like it's getting a little Fatal Attraction-y up in here.

What we knew: the FBI got involved because someone, presumably Broadwell, had "sought access to [Petraeus's] email" account, and the bureau was worried that he had been hacked, or otherwise compromised. This is a big ol' problem, because I can think of lots of rogue states that would love to poke around through the CIA Director's Gmail.

What we know now: the investigation initially had nothing to do with Petraeus, but was rather a routine harassment investigation. Broadwell had been sending abusive emails to another woman, one she considered a romantic rival for Petraeus's affections, and she had done it from Petraeus's account. From there, the FBI went through his emails, and discovered the affair.

But was there a second mistress?

The identity of the woman who received the e-mails was not disclosed, and the nature of her relationship with Petraeus is unknown. The law enforcement officials said the e-mails indicated that Broadwell perceived the other woman as a threat to her relationship with Petraeus.

As spectacular as this scandal is already, it's just going to get more embarrassing for everyone involved. Like a good scandal should! But it's got to burn Broadwell to know none of this would have come out if she would have been a little more cool with sharing. Girl, General David Petraeus (Ret.) is not some songbird that you can just keep in a cage. General David Petraeus (Ret.) needs to be free to do what General David Petraeus (Ret.) needs to do to feel like a man.